Tag: flamingo

Ferry to a Fish Shack in the Camargue

A Grey Heron saunters by a flamingo flock at the Parc Ornithologique du Pont de Gau in the Camargue.

Watching with wonder works wonders on boosting spirits, especially when the star of the show is my favorite bird, the Greater Flamingo. I love watching these captivating creatures do what they do—prance and preen, forage and fly, squawk and even snooze. While they catch some Zzzzzs, they balance on one spindly leg for an incredibly long time—and that’s with their eyes closed!

Surprisingly, this White Stork finds a big pond all to itself.

As happens in life, spirits can sometimes spiral downward. When that occurred the other day, Ralph and I headed to the Parc Ornithologique de Pont du Gau in the Camargue—about an hour from St. Rémy—to visit “my” special feathered friends. In this vast, wild nature reserve, dotted with large ponds, there are loads of flamingos that you can see very close up. It was incredibly calming. We also searched for rarities on our trek but none had flown in that day though there was a good variety of nice birds to include Eurasian Teals, Little Egrets, Grey Herons, and White Storks.

The water wheel “cruise liner” crossing Le Petit Rhône
The ferry runs all year every half hour–with time off for lunch, of course.
Horses waiting for the ferry called Bac du Sauvage
Ohoy, maties–grab super fresh fish here!
The rustic eatery Cabanne du Pêcheur

After wandering around the nature zone, ducking in and out of bird observatories, we headed to the funky fish shack called Cabanne du Pêcheur Chez Zu. The hitch is that this authentic, rustic eatery is on the other side of Le Petit Rhône from the nature park. But no need to drive in search of a bridge when you can slide onto a free, flat-bed water-wheel car ferry that whisks vehicles to the other side in about three minutes, every half hour–except during lunch. Walkers, cyclists, as well as horses, are welcome aboard the “cruise liner,” too.

Crispy calamar and Lotte tails with garlic sauce
Decadent frites!
Pork sausage offered while pondering the menu.

Under sunny skies, we joined a dozen other couples on the terrace appointed with a mish-mash of weathered furniture to enjoy the river view and the delectable crispy monkfish called Lotte and tiny squid rings, accompanied by fabulous frites. Delicious and decadent it was!

**

While asleep, flamingos make for a beautiful, serene spectacle.

Wherever you are, dear readers, I wish you health, happiness and hope.

Bises, Gayle

PS

Pleasures of Provence is moving along. The initial, complete (albeit rough) draft will soon make its way to the beta reader stage. Loads of hoops to hop through but progress is happening.

PPS

For a splendid, off-the-beaten-track travel article on the Camargue, check out Alexis Steinman’s Cowboys and flamingos in the wild, wild South, New York Times, International Edition, 21 August 2024